Tiger Fire
by Aratriss
Summary: A foreign prince and princess on a quest for peace, Tigress's true self, an evil emperor and his traitorous nephew, a mysterious sword, and death. Tiger Fire is not for the young and faint-hearted and contains death and minor sexual references. Rated T. All credit to Dreamworks. The OCs are my own, of course.
1. The Tyger poem

"The Tyger"

by William Blake

Tyger Tyger, burning bright,  
In the forests of the night;  
What immortal hand or eye,  
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?

In what distant deeps or skies.  
Burnt the fire of thine eyes?  
On what wings dare he aspire?  
What the hand, dare seize the fire?

And what shoulder, and what art,  
Could twist the sinews of thy heart?  
And when thy heart began to beat,  
What dread hand? and what dread feet?

What the hammer? what the chain,  
In what furnace was thy brain?  
What the anvil? what dread grasp,  
Dare its deadly terrors clasp!

When the stars threw down their spears  
And water'd heaven with their tears:  
Did he smile his work to see?  
Did he who made the Lamb make thee?

Tyger Tyger burning bright,  
In the forests of the night:  
What immortal hand or eye,  
Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?


	2. Chapter 1

_Hello, everyone! I'd like to say that this is remake of a fan fiction that I wrote in eighth grade. It was titled _The Apprentice_, but it has since changed. That poem on the last page seemed fitting for this story. I did some research in Chinese locations, so most of the locations are real. Now, later on in this chapter, I mention provinces. Basically, China is split into several provinces. I believe each __province had its own ruler, but I couldn't find much info on it. Anyways, I hope you enjoy this story. It's not my best work, but it's better than it was 4 years ago, in my opinion. I tried my best to be historically accurate, but I don't know a lot about Chinese history. If any of you know Chinese history and spot anything inaccurate, please let me know so that I may correct it, if possible. Another thing, please give me helpful criticism; don't just blatantly blast the story and call it junk or whatever, because that is just rude and not at all helpful. I may or may not post every day or week, 'cause I've got school and dance class. Plus, it takes a while to write something good. But anyways, without further ado, here is my story._

Chapter 1 Dreams

It was a peaceful night in the Valley of Peace. Hardly anyone expected something to disturb the peace, at least not with the Furious Five and the Dragon Warrior protecting the valley. Had it not been for these brave warriors, this valley would have been all but forgotten. At the Jade Palace barracks, these warriors were resting from a long day of training. However, one of them will not be so rested. The one called Tigress was clutching the side of her bed as she slept. She looked like she was in pain. She was dreaming of young white tiger cub dressed in royal attire. The child reminded her of her friend Shadow from long ago, but that's a different story. The child was reading a scroll on martial arts. She set the scroll down and attempted one of the moves. She charged and spin jumped while punching, creating blue fire that quickly froze whatever it touched.

The child gasped. "It worked, but what do I do now?" she asked, a little panicked. She grabbed the scroll and read it. "Ok, it says that Fire Spin can get rid of it… Um… 'To reverse the effects of Freeze Flame, perform a mirrored version of Freeze Flame.' Mirrored? That means, the other way, right?" She glanced at her room. The child did as the scroll instructed, but she only managed to set the room ablaze. Sure, the ice melted, but now fire burned everywhere. The child screamed and clutched the scroll tightly. Outside her door, a guard hears her screams for help and rushes to her aid. He sees the flames surrounding her. "Help me!" the child screamed. The guard nods. "I'll fetch more help! Stay there, and stay calm!" he orders, before leaving.

The dream faded slowly, and Tigress jolted awake, gasping for breath. She takes in slow, deep breaths and then lies down again. "Who was that girl?" she whispered. "Did she survive?" The image was still fresh in her mind. The little girl was a part of nobility. That was a safe bet. However, Tigress hoped that she wasn't real, and this was just one of those nightmares that come once in a while. But something within her said the girl was real.

The next day after an intensive training session, Master Shifu tells everyone that he has received a letter from the royal family of India. "We all must be on our best behavior when Prince Rajat and Princess Atara arrive, and when I say 'we,' I mean Po," Master Shifu said. Everyone looked at Po. "What? What are you all staring at me for?" Po asked. Master Shifu cleared his throat and ignored him. "Right… As I was saying, they will be coming to make peace negotiations with the rulers of the provinces, but they will need two warriors to protect them in their travels. Po, Tigress, you will accompany them on their journey," he told them.

"Alright!" Po exclaims.

"Thank you, Master. It is an honor," Tigress respectfully says, bowing.

Suddenly, Tigress became extremely dizzy. She groaned and held her head. "Tigress, are you ok?" Master Shifu asks. Tigress shook her head and then collapsed. Tigress had a vision just then. She saw the same little girl from last night. This time, she was with her mother. Tigress couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy. How she longed to have a mother to love her! Tigress watched as the little girl's mother talked to her. They were talking about something dangerous. "This weapon is only for those who can use it, for those who have mastered fire. It is called Justice, my daughter," the mother spoke. "It is a dangerous weapon, and it should not be wielded by the faint of heart. This sword has a special power, and it can help the wielder win nearly every battle. Any warrior desires a sword like this, and only evil will try to seek it out. Beware, when you find this sword, for those who seek the sword's power will seek to destroy the wielder." The little girl's eyes widened, but Tigress couldn't see what happened next because the scene faded.

She heard voices blending together. They sounded concerned. They were calling her name. She opened her eyes. Blurred faces stared at her. She tried to sit up, but a wave of dizziness caused her to lie down again. "Tigress, are you ok?" someone asked her. She groaned. Her vision became clearer, and she could now make out the people around her. "What happened?" she asked, groaning.

"We don't know," Po replied.

"You just collapsed," Crane finished.

"Are you ok?" Viper asked.

"I'm fine," Tigress replied.

Truthfully, their concern irritated her. She stood up. "Tigress," Master Shifu started, "you have my permission to rest for a little while. Perhaps, you are training too hard." Tigress took in a deep breath. "Thank you, Master," she said, bowing respectfully. She walked to her room in the barracks. When she entered, she slid the door closed and sat on her bed. For some reason, she kept thinking about the scroll the little girl had. It looked awfully familiar for some reason. She was sure that that same scroll was in the Jade Palace archives. "What was it called?" she asked herself. She remembered that it was some kind of forbidden scroll. She knew this, because Master Shifu once caught her looking through it. She decided to get a look at it tonight. If there were powerful moves in it, she would be the one to master them. She wanted a chance to be stronger than Po, the Dragon Warrior.

That night, Tigress was looking through archives. She held a paper lantern in one hand. The wall of scrolls proved to be a challenge for her. She wasn't sure which one could be the scroll. There were more than a thousand scrolls. She deduced that the scroll had to be past scroll one thousand. Thankfully, the scrolls were numbered. She soon looked through several scrolls, but she couldn't find the one scroll. Sighing, she put another scroll back. She was tired of searching, but Tigress wasn't one to give up. Tigress was patient. When she was focused on a task, nothing can stop her. She grabbed another scroll and looked through it. There it was, and she saw them. The familiar drawings told her this was the scroll. She smiled a rare smile. This was her chance to outshine Po. She decided to come back and study the scroll the next night. And with that, she stalked back to her room.


End file.
